


Midnight

by lovima



Series: The Galactic Aesthetician [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: M/M, Written for a fic exchange, anakin has a heated moment, hand holding, this was supposed to be funny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:02:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24809734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovima/pseuds/lovima
Summary: Thrawn attempts to learn more about the Sith, Vader stops him.
Relationships: Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Darth Vader
Series: The Galactic Aesthetician [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1826599
Comments: 1
Kudos: 41





	Midnight

Thrawn may have made a bit of a miscalculation.  
But how big indeed? He considered, frozen mid-squat, holding one of Palpatine's (considerably) priceless artifacts in his grasp. He had conspired to carry it out in the early hours of the morning, once everyone at the conference had retired for the night, and the halls of the Coruscant palace had been devoid of all life but the drunken walking zombies of the Empire's finest.

During one of the previous night's galas among the groups of ludicrously dressed officials, Thrawn had spied the thing in question. It was a dark, jagged, roughshod-looking piece, sitting on an unremarkable wooden podium, among other frabjous trinkets lining the walls. None paid it any attention, but to Thrawn's careful eye, the artifact stood out like a bantha in a ceramic's shop. It's heat signature changed beneath his eyes, something he had sparsely observed before. The shapes it drew were, in a way, soothing, almost hypnotic. They reminded him of a passage he read once extracted from a lactarium of the Sith, where it spoke of alchemy being used as a means of expression.

Thrawn was not ignorant of the Emperor's 'abilities' or the history of the dark force users who predominated the galaxy before him. The chiss had strived to obtain a piece of the old civilization's art ever since he had been privy to its existence.  
The statuette was remarkably, unmistakably sith; in fact, its perfidious aura sang of something dark and ancient, piquing his interest.The Sith were once a fully functioning Empire, a civilization, having created art themselves in the peak of their reign of the galaxy. All expression spoke of any belief, and belief, as Thrawn understood it, could be exploited. 

With that thought, Thrawn decided to burrow it...for later examination. 

Sneaking out of his appointed rooms had been easy enough, the path was mostly unguarded, and any lingering security knew not to bother the admiral. He was in the receiving hall in moments, skirting close to the wall Thrawn followed it's course, closing in on the target. The artifact was, of course, still in its original spot, it's sleek, obsidian surface reflecting the twinkling lights of the Coruscant Cityscape.  
Making sure that no one was watching Thrawn went straight in, bending down to lift the object of its little podium in one fluid motion. It was a lot heavier than anticipated, it's many edges cutting into the chiss' navy-issue gloves like they were made from flimsi.

The surface was warm to the touch, thrumming beneath his skin like something he had never felt before. No matter how hard Thrawn looked, there seemed to be no limit to its shape, fuscous walls hiding the each end and angle out of sight. Turning it on one aspect made it slip out his grasp, almost dropping it.

He was so preoccupied with re-adjusting his hold that he did not see the dark shadow that had materialized behind him.

Which is what brought him to his current situation.

"What is the meaning of this?" The deeply spoken words seemed to reverberate through the chamber, echo amplifying the vocoded voice as if the manifestation of the dark side itself had caught him desecrating its place of worship.

Thrawn was not easily frightened, but he had to admit that Vader's sudden appearance did startle him enough to almost drop the artifact again, more out of its suddenness than actual fear. He forced himself not to react, opting to keep calm, Vader had no reason to kill him...yet.

Prevising that the Dark Lord would not sense his lapse of judgment, his spike of fear, or his actual motivation, he would be safe for as long as he played his cards right.  
He tentatively stood straight, turning to face the shadow looming just a foot away from him, as if in the presence of a dangerous animal. The rhythmic hiss of the mask filled the space between them was the only indication that the man in front of him was mortal. 

Vader seemed to be wholly molded out of darkness like this. The edges of his cape morphing with the shadows draped around him, only the particular sloping outline of his head and shoulders truly outlined against the city skyline. Thrawn could barely see his feet in the darkness, but could just about spot the gloved hands slowly tightening into fists with a creek of leather. The man's body language was tense, like a choleric predator about to strike.

He must have been staring too long because the Sith cocked his head in question, the black helmet's edges glinting like the serrated, undefinable thing in Thrawn's hands. Up close, it called to him, whispered a promise of secrets of cosmic proportion within its small encasement.

"Well?" Vader asked again, a sharp tint of irritation in his tone. It broke Thrawn out of his stupor.

The Dark Lord was expecting an answer; Thrawn considered giving him one, which he instantly decided would ultimately lead the conversation to him re-purposing the artifact. Even without his use of the force, Vader was well aware of Thrawn's tactics, and would most probably deduce his ultimate goal. If he was to get away with this, he needed to apply a different tactic.

"You are not asleep." He responded, carefully placed the artifact back on it's stand as if to not break the tension in the room. 

"That is none of your concern." Vader crossed his arms across his chest. "It would not be wise for you to avoid my question. Especially when dealing with things beyond your understanding." He took a step closer, Thrawn could feel the heavy gaze focus on him from behind the mask, it felt like he was scowling.

Thrawn ran a finger against a pointed edge. "This sith artifact would be beneficial in my studies, albeit, I do not believe that the Emperor would be willing to let me borrow it."

The Dark Lord made an odd noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort "So you are stealing it?" He sounded amused.

Thrawn tore his eyes away from the artifact to watch the Sith. There was such a connection there, and almost family resemblance in the sheet feel of the palpable force encompassing them. Vader, however, felt less jarring, more real, still dangerous, but real. "It is the only piece of Sith-created art that isn't...living."

"Are you implying that you want to study me instead?"

"Your design is, in a way, impeccable." Thrawn stepped closer until they were face to face, even though he was a tall man, Vader still ostensibly dwarfed him in size. Still, Thrawn dared to brush his knuckles against the edge of the black cape, "My Lord."

Vader stood straight, turning to face the expansive view of the city, the motion made their shoulders bump together ever so slightly. The traffic outside illuminated his visor to a reddish tint. "And do you believe that your attempt at flattery will let you escape the repercussions of your actions?" 

Thrawn swallowed, he did not mean to come across as obsequious. "I would be grateful for the alternative of your companionship, my Lord, at times, the isolation of the human society can get stifling." Thrawn had to stop for a moment as leather-clad fingers interlaced with his, securing it in a tight grip and tugging him closer until the hem of Vader's black cape brushed the end of his white tunic. "I speak sincerely, hiding my interest would be counterproductive."

He did not speak any further, or move away, waiting for a response from the Sith. They stood together just like that, close enough that Thrawn could feel each minuscule motion of every breath as it is pushed in and out of the Sith's body, a broad thumb stroked over the back of his hand, once, twice and then again before Vader spoke.

"Do not speak of loneliness as if you are its sole perceiver, you have not known it from the youngest moments of your life, known as an outcast and resented by the very people you so dearly loved.  
You think you are alone here, but there is no loneliness more significant than having faces you had once known turn to you in horror. Sleep is the only blessing and refuge, but even now, it evades me." His voice crackled with what Thrawn could have called as emotion. "All I want, from the moment I fall asleep, is to never wake back up."

Vader brought up Thrawn's hand in between them, running his fingers along the sliced and torn fabric.

"And I live within my own reality, with the hatred and pain of what I have created with my own two hands. There is a curse to not being human, you get to watch the rest live the life you will never have and resent every moment of your existence for those same reasons. You have little understanding it is to be trapped your own skin, your greatest decision in what you thought was right turned out to be a curse that you cannot shred. But you push on, trying to find meaning in the hellscape you walk."

"May you never make an error such as this Mitth'raw'nuruodo." He finished, motioning to the artifact behind them, it's call having diminished now in the Dark Lord's presence "Not every sojourn is worth your effort." The Sith reached out, brushing a large hand over Thrawn's jaw and his ear, as if arranging hair that he knew was never out of place.

Thrawn just sort of stood there, too perplexed to actually say something in response. He covered the hand over his cheek with his own.

"If that is so, and if I truly cannot perceive your pain, would you inform me how to understand?"

"And give you the tools to dismantle the Sith?"

Thrawn felt a smile tug at his lips, "You know my loyalties lie with the Empire, and with you."

They were suddenly distracted by a commotion in the hallway, where a drunkenly disorientated officer (not one of Thrawn's, thankfully) stumbled into view. They gave a clumsy salute before dissipating out of sight, sucking out the atmosphere with their presence like a breach in the hull of a ship. 

Vader took a full step back, widening the space between them. "We are done here." He said, dropping his hand and knocking Thrawn's carefully pinned rank bar out of place. 

Thrawn held up his hand, he wanted to say something...profound to tie off the conversation, draw out any assumption of what had just transpired before it slipped through his fingers. However, the Sith was already stalking past him, leaving the thread unraveled and uncertain, guessing for what he assumed would be the next time. Thrawn watched him stop at the entrance, silhouette outlined in the hallway light.

"Goodnight, Admiral. Until we meet again." He called casually, before leaving Thrawn alone in the dark.

**Author's Note:**

> There might be a sequel, but I'm not like, promising anything.


End file.
